• Conservation Science in Museum
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• v.25
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• pp.63-84
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• 2021

In order to investigate the diverse physicochemical changes that occurred in traditional Korean pottery during its production, including before and after firing, this study produced six replicas of a celadon maebyeong inlaid with cloud-and-crane designs, respectively corresponding to the process of shaping, carving, inlaying designs, first firing, glazing and second firing, respectively. It then conducted a scientific study of these six replicas and analyzed their images through high-resolution three-dimensional transmission imaging. The materials used for the replicas show different mineral phases and even colors depending on the components of each material. For example, black inlay with a high content of iron oxide (Fe₂O₃) shows dark colors and white inlay with a high alumina (Al₂O₃) content appears white. Physicochemical properties such as chromaticity and magnetic susceptibility and major components of the replicas were confirmed by the differences in the density in the computed tomography (CT) images. The characteristics of fired products such as fine structure, absorption ratio, apparent porosity, and other characteristics of the major mineral components were identified by the presence of pores and the formation of cracks inside the replicas in the image analysis.